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By Cliff Rold
They’ve built the event.
Are we in for a fight?
That’s the big question heading into a clash that has intrigue largely for one reason: there are many who suspect Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez has had the course. At 39, coming off nail biting moments in each of his last two outings and injury issues, is Martinez a spent force?
If so, challenger Miguel Cotto might have a serious shot at becoming an unlikely heir to history’s Middleweight throne.
If not, then we have a sound transactional move from a talented champion still seeking to plant himself firmly in the broadest consciousness of the sport with commensurate pay. For close to two years, Martinez chased the biggest payday available to him in the form of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Always viewed as easy pickings beyond the economics, Martinez made it just that for eleven rounds. A twelfth round knockdown created a great explosion of drama from an otherwise mundane evening.
With Gennady Golovkin and others building momentum, can the aging Martinez make it past Cotto to the challenge of serious Middleweights again?
Let’s go the report cards. The Chavez final round might be written off if not for Martinez’s next outing, a defense against Martin Murray that could have gone either way. Martinez was forced to come off the floor in round eight and struggled throughout the night. Out of the ring now over a year, he’s either healed up or gotten old.
That’s the storyline anyways.
No one can know until they’re in the ring so we take Martinez at the form of his last two fights. That form presents a lot of problems for Cotto. The Puerto Rican star has always struggled with speed. It undid him against Pacquiao and Mayweather and allowed Austin Trout to win too many exchanges in his last defeat.
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They’ve built the event.
Are we in for a fight?
That’s the big question heading into a clash that has intrigue largely for one reason: there are many who suspect Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez has had the course. At 39, coming off nail biting moments in each of his last two outings and injury issues, is Martinez a spent force?
If so, challenger Miguel Cotto might have a serious shot at becoming an unlikely heir to history’s Middleweight throne.
If not, then we have a sound transactional move from a talented champion still seeking to plant himself firmly in the broadest consciousness of the sport with commensurate pay. For close to two years, Martinez chased the biggest payday available to him in the form of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Always viewed as easy pickings beyond the economics, Martinez made it just that for eleven rounds. A twelfth round knockdown created a great explosion of drama from an otherwise mundane evening.
With Gennady Golovkin and others building momentum, can the aging Martinez make it past Cotto to the challenge of serious Middleweights again?
Let’s go the report cards. The Chavez final round might be written off if not for Martinez’s next outing, a defense against Martin Murray that could have gone either way. Martinez was forced to come off the floor in round eight and struggled throughout the night. Out of the ring now over a year, he’s either healed up or gotten old.
That’s the storyline anyways.
No one can know until they’re in the ring so we take Martinez at the form of his last two fights. That form presents a lot of problems for Cotto. The Puerto Rican star has always struggled with speed. It undid him against Pacquiao and Mayweather and allowed Austin Trout to win too many exchanges in his last defeat.
[Click Here To Read More]
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